2024-Q1-L01

2024-Q1-L01: How to Read the Psalms

Read for This Week’s Study: 1 Chron. 16:7; Neh. 12:8; Ps. 25:1–5; Ps. 33:1–3; Rom. 8:26, 27; Ps. 82:8; Ps. 121:7.

Memory Text: “Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44, 45, NKJV).

Scriptures

1 Chronicles 16:7 (ESV): 7 Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the LORD by Asaph and his brothers.

Nehemiah 12:8 (ESV): 8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving.

Psalm 25:1–5 (ESV): 1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. 3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Psalm 33:1–3 (ESV): 33 Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

Romans 8:26–27 (ESV): 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Psalm 82:8 (ESV): 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!

Psalm 121:7 (ESV): 7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

Introduction

Start at the end. The last 5 psalms are Hallelujahs.

Arrangemend into five "books". The doxology of each "book" is similar and also involves praise.

The first two psalms give an introduction. Two themes.

Psalm 1. Starts with blessing. One is blessed when one meditates on the Torah (Law). Psalms is a way to pray over the Torah, or be expressive of the Torah. Think of it as a prayerbook

Psalm 2. Is a poetic reflection of 2 Samuel 7. God's promise to David of the coming Messiah in his lineage. Jesus was to be the "Son of Abraham" and the "Son of David".

Psalm 2 ends with blessing. "Blessed are all those who take refuge in him."

BOOK1. 1-41

Divine name: prefers Yehovah

Ps 15: Call to covenant faithfulness

. . . . Ps 16-18: David's past deliverance and elevation as king

. . . . . . . . Ps 19: Praising God over the Torah

. . . . Ps 20-23: Future king's deliverance and kingdom over the nations

Ps 24: Call to covenant faithfulness

BOOK2. 42-72

Divine name: prefers Elohim

Opens with Pss 42-43 and closes with Ps 72

Ps 42-43: Hope for a future return to the Temple in Zion

Ps 72: Future reign of the Messianic King. Echoes the prophets: Isaiah 11, 45 & 60; Zech. 9. Fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham and all the nations (Ps 72:17 = Gen. 12:3; 22:17).

BOOK3. 73-89

Ps 89: Closes with the promise of a Messianic Kingdom vs. Exile and downfall of David's kingdom. That God would never abandon the line of David. "Don't forget your promise."

BOOK4. 90-106

Response to the crisis of Exile.

Ps 90: Prayer of Moses. To show mercy

Pss 93-99: The day when the Lord reigns as king. "Let the trees clap, let the mountains and rivers sing.

BOOK5. 107-145

Pss 107-110: God hears the cries of the people and one day the Messianic King will defeat evil and bring God's Kingdom.

The following two collections: Sustain hope in a future exodus when God redeems his people.

Pss 113-118: Psalms of Hallel

. . . . Ps 118: Messianic kingdom

. . . . . . . . . Ps 119: The wonder and gift of the Torah and God's word to his people

Pss 120-136: Psalms of Ascents

. . . . Ps 132: Messianic kingdom

Pss 146-150:

Ps 148 (middle psalm): "God has raised up a horn for his people" (Ps 148:14). Horn symbolizing kingdom power and authority.

Lament predominates in the first three books.

Praise predominates in the last thw books.

PSALMS: Torah and Messiah; Lament and Praise; Faith and Hope.

1 Chronicles 16:7: Then on that day David first ordained to give thanks to Yahweh, by the hand of Asaph and his brothers.

Colossians 3:16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

James 5:13: Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.

Occurrences in the NT

Psalms - 68

Isaiah - 55

Deuteronomy - 44

Genesis - 35

Exodus - 31

Another quote:

The most referenced writings in the New Testament are those by Isaiah (referred to 419 times) followed by the Psalms (414 times) then Genesis (260 times). Revelation contains content from at least thirty-two distinct Old Testament books, while Luke contains thirty-one and the Gospel of John has twenty-six.

Believer's Study Bible

(1) Typological-prophetic psalms--e.g. Psalm 22, where the writer describes his own experience which is transcended by that of Jesus the Messiah

(2) Indirectly messianic:--e.g. Psalms 2; 45; 72; there were penned for a king of Israel or a royal occasion in general, but their ultimate and climactic fulfillment is realized in Christ

(3) Typical messianic psalms--these are less obvious: the psalmist in some sense is a type of Christ (Ps. 34:20), but not all aspect of the psalm necessarily apply to the Messiah (see also Ps 109:8; cf. Acts 1:20).

Major types (or foci)

Nature: 8, 19,29, 104

Historical and national: 46, 68, 79, 105, 106, 114

Didactic: 1, 15, 34, 71

Messianic: 2, 8, 16, 22-24, 40, 41, 45, 68, 69, 72, 89, 96-99, 102, 110, 118, 132

Deity: 45:6, 110:1

Sonship: 2:7

Incarnation: 40:6-7

Priesthood: 110:4

Betrayal: 41:9

Rejection: 118:22

Resurrection: 16:9-10

Ascension: 68:18

Notes

Psalm 29:9 (WEB): Yahweh’s voice makes the deer calve, and strips the forests bare. In his temple everything says, “Glory!”

Psalm 29:9 (NASB): The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

Psalm 29:9 (NIV): The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

Either the storm causes the deer to give birth, or it causes the oaks to shake.

Some scholars note that the Hebrew phrase used here, often interpreted as deer going into premature labor, can also be pronounced in a way that implies "making the oaks to shake." That would dovetail with the next phrase, where David continues the storm imagery, speaking of forests being stripped bare. A strong wind may take some leaves from trees, but only a tremendous blast would rip every leaf from a forest. The terminology used here, in fact, echoes Joel 1:7, which suggests trees having their bark blasted from the trunk.

As the storm David describes caused fear and defoliation, those who watch give praise.

Psalm 32:3-4:

Notes (2)

Psalm list: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d5dUV3BRNU&list=RDMM

Symphony of Psalms:

https://youtu.be/P2PqX6iaN-w?t=2833

Psalm 23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj2G_jNWyqo

Psalm 61:1 For the Chief Musician. For a stringed instrument. By David.

Psalm 9:1 For the Chief Musician. Set to "The Death of the Son." A Psalm by David.

Psalm 8:1 For the Chief Musician; on an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by David.

Psalm 45:1 For the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A contemplation by the sons of Korah. A wedding song.

Psalm 75:1 For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Psalm by Asaph. A song.

Psalm 89:1 A contemplation by Ethan, the Ezrahite.

Psalm 90:1 BOOK 4: A Prayer by Moses, the man of God.

In its present form, the book of Psalms consists of 150 poems divided into five books (1–41, 42–72, 73–89, 90–106, 107–150), the first four of which are marked off by concluding doxologies. Psalm 150 serves as a doxology for the entire collection.

Psalm 120-134. Psalms of Ascents

Psalm 113-118. Egyptian Psalms. Passover celebration.

Psalm 145-150. Daily praise. Begin with Praise Yah, or Yahweh

David collection. About 74 psalms

Korahite collection. About 12 psalms. E.g. Psalm 45. At the time of David/Solomon.

Asaph collection. About 11 psalms. E.g. Psalm 75. A court musician in the house of David.

Who wrote the psalms? David,

Psalm types: Praise and Magnify God, Thanksgiving (Gratitude), Lament, Wisdom (guidance), Royal (God's government), Historical, Penitential (Psalm 51), Pilgrimmage (Feasts), Imprecatory (I hate you!).

English poetry is rhyme dependent.

Hebrew poetry is not rhyme dependent. It has parallelism of thought. Duality. Two ideas set side by side. They don't need to rhyme.

Psalm 103:1: Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!

Using a part for the whole:

Psalm 88:1: Yahweh, the God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you.

Word plays, puns.

Psalm 96:4-5: For Yahweh is great, and greatly to be praised! He is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens.

Notes (3)

No sheet music. Invented in 1000 AD by a monk.

In summary, music notation as we use it today was invented in Europe around 1000 A.D. by an Italian monk named Guido d'Arezzo. He invented the lined staff to depict musical notes and named the pitch sounds. Other music symbols give further information on how to play a piece of music.

Improvisation.

SABBATH.

SUNDAY. The Psalms in Ancient Israel’s Worship

From the lesson: In the Hebrew Bible, the title of the book of Psalms, tehilim, “praises,” reflects its main purpose—that is, the praise of God. The English title Book of Psalms is derived from the Greek psalmoi, found in the Septuagint, an early (second and third century B.C.) Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.

The Psalms were an indispensable part of Israel’s worship. For example, they were used in temple dedications, religious feasts, and processions, as well as during the setting down of the ark of the covenant in Jerusalem.

“The Songs of Ascents” (Psalms 120−134), also known as the pilgrimage songs, were traditionally sung during the pilgrimage to Jerusalem at the three major annual festivals (Exod. 23:14–17). The “Egyptian Hallel” (Psalms 113−118) and the “Great Hallel” (Psalm 136) were sung at the three major annual festivals, including the festivals of the New Moon and the dedication of the temple. The Egyptian Hallel received a significant place in the Passover ceremony. Psalms 113 and 114 were sung at the beginning of the Passover meal and Psalms 115−118 at the end (Matt. 26:30). The “Daily Hallel” (Psalms 145−150) was incorporated into the daily prayers in the synagogue morning services.

MONDAY. Meet the Psalmists

Notes

Solomon: What happened to all the songs by Solomon?

1 Kings 4:32: He spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs numbered one thousand five.

TUESDAY. A Song for Every Season

From the lesson: 1. Parallelism involves the combining of symmetrically constructed words, phrases, or thoughts. Parallelism helps in understanding the meaning of corresponding parts. For instance: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” (Ps. 103:1, NKJV). In this parallelism, “my soul” is “all that is within me,” namely one’s whole being.

2. Imagery uses figurative language to strongly appeal to readers’ physical senses. For example, God’s refuge is depicted as “the shadow of [His] wings” (Ps. 17:8, NKJV).

3. Merism expresses totality by a pair of contrasting parts. “I have cried day and night before thee” denotes crying without ceasing (Ps. 88:1, emphasis supplied).

4. Wordplays employ the sound of words to make a pun and highlight a spiritual message. In Psalm 96:4, 5 the Hebrew words ’elohim, “gods,” and ’elilim, “idols,” create a wordplay to convey the message that the gods of the nations only appear to be ’elohim, “gods,” but are merely ’elilim, “idols.”

Notes

Merism (from the Greek, "divided") is a rhetorical term for a pair of contrasting words or phrases (such as near and far, body and soul, life and death) used to express totality or completeness. Merism may be regarded as a type of synecdoche in which the parts of a subject are used to describe the whole.

WEDNESDAY. Inspired Prayers

THURSDAY.The World of the Psalms

FRIDAY. Further Thought:

EGW

PP 754.4: The psalms of David pass through the whole range of experience, from the depths of conscious guilt and self-condemnation to the loftiest faith and the most exalted communing with God.